


I See You

by through_shadows_falling



Series: Supernatural Ficlets [26]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel True Forms, Castiel's True Form, Declarations Of Love, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, different dimension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:23:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4324776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/through_shadows_falling/pseuds/through_shadows_falling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean squinted. Something stood out against the bright background, but it blended so well it was hard to tell. It looked like it was draped in white fabric, which was why he could barely make it out. </p>
<p>Whatever it was, though, it was huge. Like, the size of a building.</p>
<p>Dean gulped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I See You

**Author's Note:**

> My image of Castiel's Trueform is inspired by the art of [consulting-cannibal](http://consulting-cannibal.tumblr.com/) and [ravennowithtea](http://ravennowithtea.tumblr.com/).
> 
> I can't pick my favorite, so imagine a combination of the fantastic artwork below!

“What the hell?”

Dean sat up with a frown. The last thing he remembered was hunting a truth-sorceress who saw into everyone’s “heart of hearts” (whatever that meant), but now?

Now he found himself in a vast expanse of white. There was no ceiling, and no walls. The whiteness stretched up from the vague idea of a floor beneath him, and remained unbroken until….     

Dean squinted. Something stood out against the bright background, but it blended so well it was hard to tell. It looked like it was draped in white fabric, which was why he could barely make it out. 

Whatever it was, though, it was huge. Like, the size of a building.

Dean gulped. 

Was he in Heaven? That was a place usually described like a bright, white room, right? 

But no, he’d been to Heaven and it wasn’t like this at all.  

So where was he? An alternate dimension? A dream? Limbo?

A groan resonated through the air, and the hairs on Dean’s arms stood up. His eyes trained on the thing in the distance, which had begun to stir.

Dean tensed and felt himself for weapons. He still wore his clothes from earlier, but everything was gone - even the knife he kept in his boot. 

The thing finally shifted to reveal four sets of enormous black wings that reared up into the air. The creature rose, its wings furled behind it, and with the black backdrop, Dean could see it much more clearly.

It was…breathtaking. Still the size of a building, but now vertical; it appeared to have been reclined on its side, before. Dean was right about the fabric, for it wore long, white robes that obscured its feet and figure. It bore the hands of a human, but needle-like claws jutted from its fingertips, and its head…

It had three of them that sprouted from a single neck, each facing a different direction: a zebra, an ox, and what could only be described as a porcelain mask of a human face. The mask-head had pupil-less blue eyes, and craned forward on its own worm-like neck.

Dean froze when giant blue orbs fixated on him. For some reason, he was reminded of Cas, and that’s when the creature cocked its head. 

Pieces clicked into place. 

Dean opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a voice that rumbled the ground.

_Dean?_

Dean nearly fell over from the resulting vibrations, even though he was pretty sure he’d only heard it in his head.

“Cas?” he said, once he’d caught himself. His voice was loud in the emptiness. 

The creature - Cas - nodded its mask-head and glided toward him. 

Dean let him approach. He sensed no ill intentions, and his gut sang with the knowledge that this was his friend, his angel. 

Cas finally stopped a short distance away. Dean painfully arched his head back to keep an eye on Cas’s heads, which towered way above him. 

_You can see and hear my true form,_  Cas said in amazement.

Dean had braced himself for Cas’s voice, so he endured the tremors better this time. “Yeah. And it doesn’t hurt at all.”

_This shouldn’t be possible._

“Who cares? It’s  _awesome_. I mean, look at you!” Dean indicated Cas, but couldn’t help but feel that the gesture was pathetic in the face of Cas’s sheer magnitude. 

For lack of a better word, Cas chuckled - causing a shivery sensation for Dean - before leaning down to extend an arm. 

Dean resisted squirming as one of Cas’s needle-like appendages stroked his cheek with infinite tenderness. 

_Your soul is so beautiful here_ , Cas said. In a whoosh of air, he sat, and Dean appreciated that he was trying to get closer to his level. 

“Where is here exactly?” Dean asked.

The angel’s heads swiveled around.  _A pocket dimension, controlled by the sorceress, I would guess. She must’ve sent us here._

“But why are you in your true form? And why am I not blind?”

_She sees into our heart of hearts. Our souls, our true selves. This is who I really am, and that is who you really are. I do not know why you are able to perceive me, but I imagine it’s because pain does not exist here._  He paused, and then said, sad,  _You can’t see it, can you? How brightly you shine?_

Dean shuffled his weight, embarrassed. “Yeah, okay, I get it. I’m all glowy and shit. So how do we get out of here?”

_The sorceress will have to let us out, as this is her realm._

“Great. We’re gonna die here.”

_No. I will not allow it._

“So what do we do now?”

_We wait._

Dean scowled. “How did I know you were going to say that?” He joined Cas on the ground and let his eyes rove over his friend. This was likely the only time he’d ever see Cas’s true self, so he wanted to remember everything - assuming they’d make it out alive.

Cas ruffled his wings, and huge black feathers, the size of Dean’s leg, rained down on him.

Dean panicked, but the feathers were soft and lighter than air. He smoothed his fingers over the nearest one, amazed at the silky texture. 

“Is it normal to lose feathers like this?”

_Yes, it’s normal. I’m shedding the ones tainted by Purgatory_.

Dean swallowed. 

The last time they talked, Cas had been in a bad mental place. Despite his penance in Purgatory, Cas still thought he deserved death for killing so many of his own kind. 

Sam had interrupted before Dean could say anything comforting, but now…they had all the time in the world.

“Cas.Hey, are you…are you okay?” Dean asked hesitantly. 

Cas stilled. He bent to allow for his mask-head to level with Dean. Just that one head was five times bigger than Dean’s whole body, but Dean felt a sense of rightness when he stared into Cas’s true eyes. 

Cas cocked his head in an unspoken question, so Dean continued, his voice gruff. 

“You sounded pretty depressed, before. You still…feel that way?”

To his horror, Cas’s giant eyes welled with tears. A fat drop splashed onto the floor and splattered Dean. 

_Oh Dean. You believe me an awesome creature, yet here you are: a human man, broken, but filled with so much light you’re blinding._

“Man, you get really sappy in true form,” Dean muttered as he ducked his head. 

_There is nothing to hide, here._

Dean’s heart pounded as Cas’s finger nudged under his chin and helped lift Dean’s head.

_I am so glad I was the one to raise you from perdition. I have so many regrets, but befriending you will remain my greatest triumph. You changed my life for the better. I firmly believe that._

“Cas,”Dean choked. They were right on the edge of something big, and tension thrummed through his whole body. His heart hammered so loud he thought it’d burst from his chest. 

He couldn’t listen to this. He couldn’t -

Dean gasped when Cas’s wings unfurled to engulf them in a dark cocoon. The space was warm, and despite Cas’s size, it felt close, intimate. 

_And Dean…I love you. You mean everything to me._

Dean couldn’t breathe. Cas’s wings curled around him in the blackness, and without thinking, Dean nuzzled into them, sensing their power, but also their gentleness. 

His heart resumed when Cas continued. 

_I know you don’t feel the same way, and I’m sorry to lay this on you now. Angels are not supposed to love selfishly, but if my time on earth has meant anything, I have learned to seize every opportunity. I wanted to tell you now, while you see the true me._

Cas stopped speaking for a moment as if something had just occurred to him. He peeled back his wings, and Dean reeled as light returned to him.

_Well,_ now _you see the true me_ , Cas said, sounding sheepish. _Apologies. My wings often have minds of their own. I had forgotten, since they are not as disobedient in the mortal plane._

A beat passed, and then Dean burst out laughing. It was just so  _Cas_ , he couldn’t help it.

The tension dissolved, and Dean recovered enough to scoot forward so he could lean against Cas. The angel’s robes were like velvet, and as they accepted his weight, a peace washed over him. 

Dean felt sleepy, all of a sudden. His eyes closed, and the air hummed around him - Cas, in equal contentment. 

“I, um…I love you, too, I think,” Dean murmured. He forced his eyes open. “And I don’t want you to die. I need you, okay? I need you. Please don’t…”

Cas’s hands appeared again, and Dean gripped one of them as best he could, seeing as they were larger than him. 

_I will do my best_ , Cas promised. 

“And will I remember this, if we get back?”

When _we get back_ , Cas corrected.  _And yes. I will ensure it, as long as it does not harm you._

“Good,” Dean said as he sank back into the fabric of Cas’s robes. His eyelids closed. “I’m gonna sleep now.”

_And I will watch over you, for as long as I am able._


End file.
